Virtual Reality
by Nekocin
Summary: AU, Anemone-verse, mild Trowa/Quatre : For a moment, Duo asks himself if Quatre even heard him at all. Sometimes Quatre is temporarily deaf to anything around him whenever he's focused on something.


**Title:** Virtual reality  
**Day/Theme:** July 10 / flipping tables  
**Series:** Gundam Wing  
**Character/Pairing:** Quatre, Duo, mention Heero and Trowa  
**Rating:** PG  
**Other:** "Anemone" universe, for 31_days community, AU  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own GW.

* * *

"Dammit!" Frustrated, Quatre punches several keys to keep his character up and going, barely dodging a descending meteorite.

Duo rolls his chair a bit from the booth on the left, eyebrows raised and crossed his arms. "Easy on the keys, will you? It's difficult to get these babies cheap and still working perfectly nowadays. Wanna tell me what's shaking you?"

For a moment, Duo asks himself if Quatre even heard him at all. Sometimes Quatre is temporarily deaf to anything around him whenever he's focused on something. It's one of those quirks Duo has learned to cope with when he became friends with the blond.

"Quatre." He says firmly, reaches out a hand to the keyboard and presses a few keys, successfully pausing the game.

"Hey! Why did you do that for? I need to go to the next level." Quatre turns his chair around to glare at him, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.

"Now that I've your full attention, let's take out time to talk and blow off some steam. So what got your panties up today? Your cat peed on your sofa? Your dog used your slipper as a chew toy, again?"

The annoyance on Quatre's face slowly dissolves into a look of exhaustion and resignation. Proud shoulders slump down as aquamarine eyes cast downward.

"I hate that guy." He finally admits in a soft whisper.

"Wow. That's a first. You don't usually go that far to use 'hate'. So what did this guy do exactly?" Duo easily shifts forward in his chair.

"He deliberately gets on my nerves, telling me what to do with the information, pointing out the errors in my work and, and, and--one thing I've noticed just recently. I'm the only one who gets treated like this."

Duo hasn't expected him to start ranting, leaning back in his chair, blinks a few times and grins. "Isn't that what he's supposed to do? Guiding you in your thesis-writing? I'm sure he's only trying to help."

"That's not his job. I asked my major coordinator about outside guides and he told me they only provide the information which I'm seeking and review the thesis during the finishing stage. The rest is up to me; the layout, the construction, the chronology-- everything! He's just bullying me for no reason." Quatre resumes.

"Ah~" Duo releases. "Sounds to me he's looking especially out for you." Duo stops disarming his friend's arguments as soon as he notices the dark look Quatre is giving him. He coughs. "So who's this guy anyway?"

"Mr. Trowa Barton. He works as some kind of field researcher." Quatre waves flippantly with obvious disinterest.

"Trowa Barton? Does his fair fall over his eye in a half arc?

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Yes. And no. We used to go to the same high school. How can he be annoying? He seems nice to me though."

"Nice?" Quatre scoffs in disbelief.

"Heero used to work beside him during some research program. He said he could trust Trowa with his work anytime."

Quatre is about to say something sarcastic, but Duo cuts him off hastily. "And before you start ranting; wouldn't it be better if you re-think his actions towards you carefully? I know you won't change your mind until proven otherwise, but I think this guy is just offering you help. A lot more than he should be giving."

"Are you saying he -likes- me?" Quatre eyes him in disbelief.

Duo airily waves his hand back and forth, trying to cover something and makes a humming sound behind his throat. Definitely hiding something. The sound of a bell ringing signals an incoming message on Duo's computer.

"Oh, hey, Heero's on." Duo rolls his chair back to his own booth, a large silly grin on his face before saluting his friend. "Sorry, Quatre. If you still want to get some steam off, there's this interesting vandalism game on the desktop with that itty-bitty icon. Yeah, that one. Basically, as long as you break something, you get bonus points. Try the 'flipping tables' move. It's very amusing."

Once that said, Duo disappears into his own booth, completely engrossed with his message, Quatre bets. Turning back to his own screen, he stares at his frozen character in the virtual world and then looks at the so-called vandalism game as Duo calls it. He doesn't feel that angry anymore, not being one who holds grudges for long, Quatre releases an inaudible sigh of exhaustion. His hand goes on top of the mouse and he clicks the close button. Maybe breaking a few tables will keep his mind off the possibility of Mr. Trowa Barton liking him in a sadistic way.

* * *

**TheNekoTalks:**

Sorry, the whole piece got a bit out of track. ^^;

**.:Nekocin:.**


End file.
